Separated
by WhiskersAndMazes
Summary: The sequel to 'If Things Didn't Change', set in the time of the Scorch, still told in Emma's POV. You'll need to read my first two fanfics to fully understand what's happening in this one. Ends before the end of 'If Things Didn't Change', at the start of 'The Death Cure'. There's a few lines stolen from 'The Scorch Trials' in here which I do not own
1. Chapter 1

I wriggle around uncomfortably on the bed, causing the sheets to twist. I kick them off agitatedly. I can't sleep. Of course I can't sleep, how could I? Images of those terrifying Griever things and those big, looming, ivy covered stone walls keep popping into my head. I shake them out. We're out of the Maze, we've escaped. We're safe in these little dorms the rescuers have taken us to. I imagine Newt's face. Brown eyes mischievously sparkling, peeping out of his dirty blonde hair. His mouth pulled into a cute little grin. I smile to myself. Then all of a sudden the image changes. His eyes loose their sparkle and go wide, his mouth falling open. I see him scream in terror. He keeps screaming and screaming and screaming. The image of the Grievers come back. He's stopped screaming, and now he's turning in a slow circle, scanning the Grievers that have surrounded him, his whole face frozen with fear. His limp is very noticeable as he turns. Then Grievers begin to move in…

'Emma?'

I sigh in relief, ever so grateful that Teresa woke me from my nightmare.

'Yeah?' I speak to the up to the wooden bottom of the top bunk, where I know my friend lies.

'Just checking to see if you were still awake,' she says quietly, 'Tom just went to sleep.'

I nod, even though she can't see me. I can't help but feel a little jealous. I'm constantly wishing Newt and I were telepathic like Thomas and Teresa, it would bring us so much closer. And boy, I really want to talk to him right now. Teresa and I had been separated from the boys after we'd eaten that delicious pizza with them, and now I miss them so much. Especially Newt.

I see a pair of legs dangle over the side of the top bunk. A couple of seconds later Teresa jumps down. She smiles weakly at me. Her black hair is surprisingly neat considering we'd just battled spiky, deadly slugs double the size of a cow and been running for what seemed like forever. She is pretty and grimy though. Her pale skin and tattered clothes are smeared with sweat and dirt. I look into her blue eyes and feel myself sadden. Those beautiful, bright, azure eyes of hers are now eerily haunted. If eyes were the window to the soul, her soul would be in tiny shattered pieces. She looks tired, weakened, miserable. But still, she manages to feign a smile. I do the same.

'Hey,' she says.

'Hey.'

I sit up in my bed and arrange my pillow so I'm leaning against it. She lowers herself down beside me. It's so lonely just the two of us. I think of Newt again.

'I miss the guys,' Teresa says, mirroring my thoughts.

'Me too.. at least you and Thomas can still talk,' I realise I snapped at her when I said that, and mumble sorry. She gives me a small smile to say it's ok.

'We are really lucky. Even right now, when he's asleep, I can still _feel_ him,' she says, and her smile grows. She closes her eyes blissfully, as if enjoying every second of 'feeling' Thomas.

I wish I could 'feel' Newt. I look at the door sadly. Teresa and I had tried to get out earlier, but had found that it was locked. We were trapped in our small little room with two bunk beds and a bathroom. Far away from the others. I close my eyes too, and try to call out to Newt in my mind. Maybe we _are_ telepathic, and we've just never tried?

 _Newt_ I think. _Newt, come get me. I miss you._ Still no answer. _I love you._

No such luck. I open my eyes and find I didn't even notice Teresa going back up into her bed. I lie back down. Sometime, somehow, I fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm woken abruptly as two meaty hands grip my shoulders. I scream on instinct.

'LET ME GO!' I yell.

'Calm your farm, princess. We're just taking you to the other gals,' a nasally voice chuckles.

'Just over the road,' another person says in a scratchy voice who sounds like he is just a few feet away from me.

I blink my eyes hard and look around. A scrawny man with crooked teeth is grinning as he pushes a girl along forcefully. It takes me a second to register that girl is Teresa. She's struggling in the man's grip, her hair flying all over the place as she tries to shake herself free. I look behind me and see the man handling me. He's large and muscly with a small head but an exceptionally large nose. They push us out the door of our room, and pretty soon we're out of the building. I almost call out Newt's name, but I stop myself. I almost instantly start to sweat in the intense heat outside. Although it's dark, I can feel we're walking on sand. What is this place, a desert?

'Have you there in a second princess,' Big Nose laughs a menacing laugh.

I stop trying to wriggle out of his grip. It's no use, I'm not going anywhere this guy doesn't want me to. I look over at Teresa and see she's also given up. Her guy is a lot smaller than mine, but I guess he must be really strong.

'How are they gettin' the boys across?' Scrawny asks loudly.

'Dunno, but they said theirs was gonna be pretty formal,' Big Nose replies.

They guffaw as if he'd just said the funniest thing on the planet. Teresa and I exchange a look.

'What's your name, princess?' Big Nose asks and shakes my shoulders.

I consider not telling him, or giving him a fake name. But I decide to tell the truth.

'Emma,' I say, and I'm surprised to hear a tone of confidence in my voice.

'And you?' Big Nose moves slightly behind me, so I assume he's nodding towards Teresa.

'Why should I tell you?' She says, putting emphasis on the last word.

Bad move, Teresa.

Big Nose stops abruptly behind me and I turn my head quickly to see if Teresa's okay. Scrawny has drawn a knife from his pocket and is holding it up to Teresa's chin.

'That's why,' he drawls.

'Te-Teresa,' she stammers and gulps.

'Good,' Scrawny sneers as he slides the knife back in his pocket. Then he and Big Nose continue pushing us along. Even in the dark of night I can see we're approaching a large building.

'You'll fit in here much better than Aris, Tess,' Scrawny says to Teresa.

'And you'll be a lot nicer to have around than that Michael kid, Emmy,' Big Nose says to me.

At that I almost scream. How dare he call me what Newt calls me! My heart pangs when I think Newt's name.

I look over at Teresa and see her eyes tightly squeezed shut. She must be trying to reach Thomas in her mind. She usually closes her eyes when she talks to him, and I can tell the tighter they're closed, the louder she's calling. Then Teresa's eyes fly open.

'He's gone!' She gasps.

'Who's gone?' Scrawny questions.

'Um… no one.'

I have to admit, I'm surprised she got away with that.

What does she mean he's gone? How is Thomas gone? Can she no longer 'feel' him? That can't be good.


	3. Chapter 3

We've now reached the big building. Scrawny takes one hand of Teresa for a moment and feels around for a door. He finds it, turns the knob, and practically throws her inside. Big Nose does the same to me.

'Just go down that hallway, sweethearts,' Big Nose says in a sing-song voice as he slams the door shut behind us.

'He's gone he's gone he's gone he's gone he's gone he's gone,' Teresa whispers urgently, not drawing breath.

'Calm down, Teresa. I'm sure it's nothing major.'

'Nothing major?' She squeaks.

I shush her and tell her to follow me. We're in a tiny, dark hallway, so all we can do now is follow Big Nose's instructions and go down it. I reach out and brush my fingertips against the walls on either side of me as we go. Suddenly I slam face first into the end of the hallway and fall backwards, bowling Teresa over. We jump back up, quickly checking if each other are okay, then I feel for the wall I just bump into. I find it's a door, and I push it open. I'm taken aback by a bright light that greets us on the other side. After some rapid blinking, I step through the door. Teresa follows. We take in our surroundings.

We're in what appears to be a huge gym. With girls scattered around it. They all look as exhausted, haunted and dirty as I feel. Some are lying down, asleep. Some are sitting cross legged on the floor. Most are standing up, staring right at us.

'Who are you?' A girl with long red hair calls out.

'Who are _you_?' Teresa responds.

A girl with dark skin and hair steps forward.

'No no, you first,' she says, folding her arms. A few girls nod in assent.

I see Teresa's about to protest, but I start talking first.

'My name is Emma, this is my friend Teresa. We just came from a building a little away from yours. We came here with a bunch of boys…' I go on to tell them our entire story about the Maze and Glade and escape and rescue and everything. By the end of it, they're all staring incredulously at us.

'Is this some kind of joke?' A girl with fair skin and blonde hair says with a confused look on her face.

'No, everything she said was true,' Teresa backs me up, 'Why?'

'Well,' the girl with dark skin said, 'We had a pretty similar experience.'

She tells us everything that happened to them, and pretty much all of it is exactly the same as what happened to us. The few details changed are they were a group of girls with only two boys, and we were the other way around, and the fact they were brought to this gym instead of our kind of house thing, and they seemed to have escaped their Maze (yes, they were also in a Maze!) a few days before us.

Teresa opens her mouth to respond but before she can, a shrill alarm rings through the room. We all cower and cover our ears as the ear piercing shriek surrounds us. As suddenly as it started, it stops. I click my fingers beside my still ringing ears, I can't hear anything besides the blood pumping through them. And then a man enters the gym. He's dressed head to toe in white and has a terrible combover to hide the bald patch on his small head. He has beady little eyes and a sickly smile. He looks remarkably like a rat in my opinion.

'Hello, girls,' he says. I realise my hearing has come back and feel a little relieved.

'My name is Janson. Congratulations on surviving phase one of the trials. Welcome to Phase Two. This is your task…'


	4. Chapter 4

**_Janson then goes on to explain to the girls what they must do out in the Scorch. How they have to find the safe haven, how they have to 'kill' Thomas, how they are all infected with the Flare… you know the story._**

When Janson finishes his extremely long and terrifying speech, the gym explodes with noise. Girls screaming, yelling, talking over the top of each other, asking questions, crying. I don't know what to do. It's like my brain has stopped working. I can't think.

'SILENCE!' Janson booms, 'I need to speak with the new arrivals.'

It takes me a second to figure out that by 'new arrivals' he means Teresa and I. But I feel no desire whatsoever to go over to Janson. I look next to me, Teresa isn't moving either.

'Teresa and Emma, I mean you,' he sneers. I look over at Teresa and shrug. We don't have a choice.

We walk slowly and shakily over to Janson, all the girls in the gym staring at us. I can't help but blush. I hate being the centre of attention. We reach Janson, and he tells us to follow him.

He leads us into a little room at the side of the gym, with three uncomfortable looking plastic chairs and no windows.

'Sit,' he tells us, and we do. 'I have a, well, a 'special' task for you girls.'

Teresa curses under her breath. I can feel my heart beating in my chest.

'You know how I mentioned killing that boy, Thomas?' He raises his eyebrows.

Teresa's face goes white. We both nod hesitantly.

'You're not actually going to kill him.'

Teresa and I breathe a sigh of relief. I was worried he was going to make us kill Thomas ourselves, and I know we wouldn't have been able to do that. He's one of my best friends, and Teresa - Teresa would simply stop functioning if Thomas died.

'All I ask of you is to make him think you're going to kill him,' Janson says casually.

I exchange a confused, concerned look with Teresa.

'How?' I ask hesitantly.

'You won't be alone. I'm going to get Aris and Michael from Group B to assist you. They've been told about this already,' Janson tells us.

'A-Aris?' Teresa stammers.

'Yes. I believe you two have already… spoken,' Janson grins knowingly.

Teresa swallows and nods. I look at her incredulously.  
'Who's Aris?' I ask her.

'He's Teresa's second telepathy partner,' Janson says matter-of-factly.

My eyes widen. Teresa has _another_ telepathy partner? That is… weird. I shake my head quickly, I want to get back to the Thomas thing.

'Anyway, you were telling us about making Thomas think we were going to kill him?' I shiver as I say those words.

'That's right. You and Michael shall not play a major role, Emma. You'll simply be observing the scene to make sure nothing goes astray. As for you, Teresa, I'm afraid you and Aris will be running the show,' Janson gives a nod in Teresa's direction.

Janson then goes on to tell us this horrible plan of his that Teresa will take Thomas from the group of Gladers in the Scorch (using a _bag_!) and bring him along with us and the girls. Later Teresa and I will separate Thomas from the pack of girls and lead him to this gas chamber thing, where we will meet Aris and Michael. Teresa and Aris will act all lovey dovey to play with Thomas' head, and they will tell Thomas they're going to kill him and then shove him into the chamber. I need to take a few seconds after each thing he said to collect myself, so I miss a few things.

I look over and see a tear trickling down Teresa's cheek.

'No, Janson, I can't. I can't do that to him I can't…' She whimpers.

'If you don't throw him in that chamber, I'll kill him myself,' Janson says menacingly.

Teresa sniffles and wipes her eyes. Eventually she nods.

'If it will save his life, I will,' she murmurs.

I'm stunned into silence. We're actually going to do this to Thomas. But I see why we have to, doing this was better than having Thomas' life taken.

'Emma?' Janson turns towards me.

'I'm in,' I say, and my voice cracks.

'Splendid,' Janson smiles. And with that, he walks out of the room.

Teresa bursts into tears as he closes the door. I envelop her in a tight hug as she sobs uncontrollably into my shoulder.

'He'll… never… forgive me,' she wails between sobs.

I stroke her hair comfortingly.

'Maybe he will,' I say. Although knowing Thomas, I know he definitely will not, 'I guess it's worth risking what you have to save his life, right?'

'Right,' Teresa agrees.

I imagine if I was in Teresa's position. If I was told I had to do that to Newt. I feel my own eyes tear up at the thought.

We both jump when we hear the door creak open.

'You are now needed for the beginning of Phase 2,' a woman dressed exactly like Janson tells us.

Teresa and I break apart and follow the woman out, ready to start the worst two weeks of our lives.


	5. Chapter 5

**_The girls have spent almost all of their given two weeks out in the Scorch. Emma and Teresa are still alive… just. Every moment of every day they're dreading the moment they meet Group A. Teresa has been talking to Aris telepathically, and he said that boy Michael died in a lightning storm, leaving just him, Teresa and Emma to carry out the task. Teresa's had the kiss with Thomas, and has been trying to reach him in her brain ever since - but no such luck. Now it's the day they're supposed to meet Group A…_**

I walk next to Teresa, right at the front of the pack of girls. With every footstep, my heart sinks a little more. I wonder if the boys can see us. We've already spotted them. I can't quite make out who's who yet, all I can see is a pack of people a lot smaller than ours trudging through this desert. We walk closer and closer and closer, carrying our weapons we're supposed to threaten the group with. A girl behind us is holding the sack we need to shove Thomas in. A thousand thoughts race through my head. Will Thomas figure out we're lying? What will Newt think? Will I be able to talk to him? Is Teresa going to follow through? Has Aris told Thomas anything? I find myself looking down at my dusty shoes as I push myself on through the sand. Suddenly Teresa gasps and stops next to me. I turn around and face her.

'What?' I ask.

'I see Tom,' she croaks.

I look over at the group of boys, and my eyes immediately land on a flash of blonde hair on a boy walking differently to the rest, limping.

'Newt,' I breathe.

As if he can hear me, the boy suddenly stops in his tracks and stares right at us. I begin to run towards him, but Teresa grabs me by the shoulders.

'You can't. We have to enter all together remember?' She reminds me.

I nod, and fight the temptation to push her away and continue running towards Newt. Turns out there was nobody holding him back, because he starts sprinting and hobbling towards us.

'EMMY!' I hear him yell.

A girl standing behind me grabs my arm, anticipating my next move - which was to run. Newt's getting closer and closer by the second, and the rest of the group is following him. I hear Thomas call out Teresa's name. Other Gladers are calling to us too.

'What will we do when they reach us?' A girl called Sonya questions.

'Just - carry on with the plan. Circle around them, get the weapons, you know,' A girl called Harriet responds.

I clutch my bow tightly in my hand, and feel the sheath of arrows knocking against my back with every step. Teresa grips her spear so tightly I see her knuckles go white.

I look up and almost break down crying with what I see. Newt and the other Gladers are only a few metres in front of us. They're all frozen still. I study Newt's face. His brown eyes are glistening with tears, his cheeks red from running, his blonde hair flopping down in front of his eyes. He's wearing dust covered clothes. And he's smiling. His whole face lit up with his beautiful smile, showing all his teeth. Usually when Newt smiles it's a small smirk, but this one is different - I've only seen it a few times before. His real smile. However I can't reciprocate his grin. It breaks my heart that he doesn't know what's coming. I feel tears start to flow down my cheeks, but I try to keep a straight face as Janson ordered. Newt blinks twice and his smile disappears. His forehead creases in confusion and concern.

'Emmy?' He whispers.

I shake my head sadly, and we go on with the plan.


	6. Chapter 6

The other girls and myself make a big circle around the boys, they're a lot more outnumbered than I thought they would be. They look around at us. Asking Teresa and I what's going on. I keep my mouth shut, I'm afraid if I open it I'll break my composure. I recognise everyone here, except for two people. One older man and one girl with dark hair and eyes who looks a few years older than me. She's standing right next to Thomas. I reluctantly pull an arrow out of my sheath and draw it back in the bowstring. The other girls lift their weapons too.

'What's this crap about, Teresa, Emma?' Minho retorts, 'Nice way to greet your long-lost buddies.'

Teresa and I don't answer the question, and an eerie silence sweeps across the group.

Instead, as planned, Teresa walks right in to the boys. Right up to where Minho and Newt are standing side by side.

'Teresa?' Newt asks, 'What the bloody - '

'Shut up,' Teresa says. She doesn't yell it, she says it calmly and with conviction. I'm surprised at how well she's doing with this. 'And if any of you make a move, the bows start shooting.'

Teresa brings her spear up into fighting position, and swings it back and forth as she walks past Newt and the other Gladers. She passes the girl with dark hair, and they don't say anything, but there's an obvious hatred between them. Teresa moves past her, never dropping her icy state. And then she's standing in front of Thomas. My heart aches for her, I can only imagine the pain she's feeling right now.

'Teresa,' Thomas whispers. I see Teresa shake a little.

I try to look right at Thomas, averting my eyes from Newt and Teresa. I can't bear to look at them right now.

We go on with the plan, we keep threatening the pack until we finally manage to get a very confused and hurt Thomas in the sack. Then we start walking quickly away. Teresa whispers something down to the sack, probably telling him everything will be alright. Janson said she should keep assuring him to trust her. All part of this stupid, unfair game. At that moment I realise I can't go on with this anymore. I start walking backwards ever so slowly from the group of girls. They don't seem to notice. I walk back further and further, and they still don't realise I'm gone. This might be my only chance. I turn around and sprint back towards the Gladers. I run as fast as my legs can carry me, my arrows bouncing against my back. They're further away than I thought they were, but soon enough I reach them.

I don't hear him, but I see Newt mouth my name. I fling myself into his arms, dropping my bow. My sheath of arrows falls off my back. He embraces me so tight I can barely breathe. I do the same to him. I start crying against his dirty jacket. He smooths down my hair. I don't ever want to let go, but we do. We pull back away from each other and stare at each other for a long moment, then he tucks my hair behind me ears. I smile. He always does that before he kisses me. And now my lips are on his, my hands at the back of his head, my fingers intertwined with his hair. His hands are on my back, and he pulls me closer as we kiss. It reminds me of our very first kiss in the graveyard in the Glade. Just like then, all thoughts disappear from my mind. My only concern is to keep kissing. Sadly our reunion is interrupted.

'Um, hello?' A sharp girl's voice says.

I break away from Newt and see the dark haired girl with her hands on her hips.

'Sorry,' Newt murmurs.

'I've missed you so much, Newt,' I tell him.

'I've buggin' missed you too, Emmy,' he replies in his gorgeous British accent.

We lean in to start kissing again, but Minho grabs us both and pulls us away from each other.

'Hey Emma, ya shank. Good to see you. Now stop with this shuck love fest okay?' He smirks at me.

I find myself wondering how Minho's hair has stayed in perfect shape out in the Scorch.

'Right, sorry about that,' I grin.

'Okay so now that everyone's reunited, can you _please_ tell us what's going on?' Frypan begs.

'Hey, Frypan,' I tell the cook.

'Hey,' he rolls his eyes.

So I explain everything, everything Janson told us, everything we've done in the Scorch so far, everything.

' _Aris_ was in on this?' Newt's eyes widen, then he turns around, 'Aris? Where'd that slinthead bloody go?'

'Probably gone to help Teresa with this huge shucking betrayal act!' Minho grumbles.

'And how's that Janson guy gonna feel about you being here with us, Emma?' Frypan asks me.

I curse, I hadn't even thought about that. I feel fear spread throughout my body. He's going to punish me for sure. But how?

'We have to stop them!' The dark haired girl (the boys had referred to her as Brenda) says.

I shake my head. Maybe it's too to save myself from the certain punishment that awaits me when we get back to WICKED, but not for Teresa and Aris. I'll let them go on with the plan without me.

'Why not?' Minho asks.

'She wants to keep bloody Teresa and Aris out of trouble, I'm guessing,' Newt raises his eyebrows, and I nod.

Minho rolls his eyes, 'Fine. You're with us now, Emma. And we have to get to this shuck safe haven real soon.'

'Okay,' I mutter.

The group continues dragging their feet through the sand. I pick up my bow and arrows and follow suit. Minho's leading the pack, Newt and I bringing up the rear.

'What do you think they'll do to me, Newt?' I murmur to him.

Newt sighs and hangs his head, 'I don't know, Emmy. But I swear, I'll do anything I buggin' can to keep you safe.'

I offer him a weak smile of gratitude, but we both know there'll most likely be absolutely nothing he can do.

'Newt, if they ki-'

Newt grabs my shoulders and puts a hand over my mouth.

'Don't say it, Emmy. Don't even think it.'

I nod slowly and he draws his hand away.

'Come on, we need to get to this bloody safe haven.'


	7. Chapter 7

**_The group has reached the so called 'safe haven'. They've met up with the others, Teresa and Thomas both looking heartbroken and miserable. Now everyone is battling the bulb monsters…_**

I swing my bow into the monster as hard as I can, and the third orange bulb pops loudly. I hear popping and screaming all around me, but I don't look to see how everyone else is going. My only concern right now is the horrific sight standing right before me. I swing my bow again with a grunt, and I manage to pop another bulb out. The gruesome monster lunges down at me. I roll behind it and shoot an arrow into a bulb in its back. The monster swings around to attack, but I already have another arrow ready. I pop the sixth bulb with the arrow, and the seventh with my bow. Not many to go now. I go to take another swing when I hear a yell to my left, where I know Newt is battling his bulbous monster. I fire another few arrows into my foe, and sneak a look. I scream at what I see. Newt is on the floor, his monster yanking his foot.

'NEWT!' I scream so loudly it rips my throat.

'EMMY!' He yells as the monster tears of his shoe, causing Newt's leg to collapse back on the floor, his whole face contorts with pain and he grabs it - I realise that's his injured leg.

'I'M COMING!' I tell him, and turn back to finish off my monster. I got extremely lucky and the few arrows I fired blindly hit more bulbs, the monster is kneeling on the floor. Only three to go. One swing of my bow, one bulb gone. One arrow fired, another bulb gone. I only have one left now. I reach to grab another arrow, but realise I'm all out. I'm stunned still for a second. The monster takes advantage of this and pushes me down to the floor. The monster's now sitting on top of me. I put both my hands on its face in an attempt to push it away. I scream in pain from its weight on me. I pull myself together and wriggle one foot free, I finish it off with a swift kick in the last bulb. My monster crumples to the floor and I shove it off me.

My triumph is brief. I rush over to Newt straight away, he's trying to scramble back onto his feet. The monster is advancing on him.

I throw myself in front of Newt.

'Oh no you don't,' I snarl at the monster.

Kick, swing, shoot, scream, kick, swing, shoot - I end the vicious mutation's life within seconds. Just then I feel a massive wind sweep through our group, my hair flies back and my eyes water. A huge airplane or helicopter or something like that is landing right in front of us. I look around, everyone's monsters are on the floor, and everyone is rushing towards the massive helicopter thing. I look down at Newt, he's on his knees now, with a hypnotised look on his face as he watches everyone pile onto the plane. I grab him by the arms and haul him up. He shakes his head and mutters 'sorry' and 'thank you', I clutch his hand tightly and we follow everyone onto what must be the real safe haven.


	8. Chapter 8

**_So now, the extremely understated Phase Three of the trials - as you hopefully remember the Gladers all had a different trial for this phase, the only one we got told about in the books was Thomas' - weeks in an empty white room. Thomas has been taken away and all the Gladers and Group B are being shoved into different rooms in WICKED's headquarters…_**

We walk in 'orderly fashion' behind the nameless WICKED member through a white corridor lined with many, many doors. I feel a memory tickle in my brain, I could've sworn I've walked through this hallway before. I wish I was like Thomas, he's been having memory dreams since the Changing. Me? I barely even remembered anything when I went _through_ the Changing - I really only remembered the basic details of our lives. Nothing that personal to me. I didn't even get a memory of Newt. I watch the WICKED associate's long brown ponytail swing harshly from side to side as she walks us through the hallway. She stops abruptly at each door and opens it, looks down at her clipboard, and calls out a name. She then pushes the person called forcefully through the door and closes it with a bang. I walk at the back of the group with Newt, gripping his hand as if my life depends on it.

'I feel like I've been here before,' I murmur to him as the lady pushes Frypan through a door.

'Me too,' Newt mumbles back.

'I remember being here… with you,' I whisper.

He looks down at me, 'Really?'

I nod. It's true - I can't really picture Newt's face here but, I feel… I don't know how to describe it. I feel his… presence? I don't know…

'Newt, Subject A5,' the woman calls in a shrill voice.

Newt freezes beside me, I give his hand a squeeze. He swallows and walks through to the front of the group, the woman shoves him inside, then walks us to the next door.

'Emma, Subject A0,' she says.

For some reason I feel relieved that my room isn't too far away from Newt's. I walk to the front and let the lady shove me inside. She slams the door shut behind me and I jump. I look around. The room is quite small. It has a bunk bed, and a toilet with a shower curtain pulled halfway around it… at that moment it hits me, I have _definitely_ been here before. In this exact room. This was… my room. Newt and I shared this room! He had the top bunk, I had the bottom. My eyes fill with tears, but I wipe them away quickly. I look around but I don't see anyone else here. Maybe my trial is to stay in this room without crying. I chuckle quietly at the idea. I walk over to the wall and trace my finger on it. I wonder what Newt's doing in the next room.

'Yes, you were quite a couple - weren't you?'

I scream at the sound of a voice behind me. I turn around and see… Janson. Looking as rat-ish as ever, with his hands behind his back and a wide grin on his face.

'J-Janson?' I stammer, 'How did you - '

'Hello, Emma,' he cuts me off.

Then I see there's another man standing next to him. Big and burly, but in the same white suit as Janson and with the same terrible combover. He's holding a huge gun. But it doesn't look like a normal gun. I swallow.

'You were not supposed to run back to Group A,' Janson shakes his head at me.

'I know, I know, I'm sorry I…' I plead.

'Silence,' Janson raises his voice a touch, 'I understand why you did it.'

Surely he must be playing with me. I stay silent.

Janson then moves his hands out from behind his back and holds one hand up. He clutches a single flower petal between his index finger and his thumb. He spins it around.

'Ah, young love.'

I gasp. I remember that flower petal. Newt gave me a flower when we lived here. When he… when he first told me he loved me. There was something about miracles… and we kissed. The memories flow through my brain like water gushing in a stream.

'Sadly, we don't believe in miracles here at WICKED,' Janson sneers. Then he gets his other hand and tears the flower petal in half. I make a weird, crying, hiccuping, screaming sound.


	9. Chapter 9

'Over to you, Mitchell,' Janson gestures to the man holding the gun-like object.

Mitchell flicks a switch on the gun.

'Ten of these bad boys in the heart should do it, boss,' he grunts.

'By it, you mean kill her, of course?' Janson grins at me, I know he only said that so I knew exactly what they were going to do to me.

'Yep,' Mitchell smiles.

'Do it,' Janson barks.

Mitchell raises his gun and points it right at my chest. I back up against the wall.

'See ya, girl,' Mitchell snorts, and puts his finger on the trigger.

I start breathing quickly and heavily, this is it. This is the end. Images flash through my mind, Newt pulling me out of the box, Teresa and I talking whilst the Gladers slept on my first night, Newt and I's first kiss, the time I woke up naked under a tree branch, running in after Teresa into the Maze as it poured rain, getting stung by a Griever, escaping the Maze, Teresa and I being smuggled across into the gym, our first meeting with Janson, trekking through the Scorch, battling Cranks, closing in on the boys, running back towards Newt, our kiss when we were re-united, battling the bulb monsters, the scared look on Newt's face when he got called, Janson crushing the flower petal. Now here I am. My life will soon be over.

'I love you Newt,' I whisper as Mitchell pulls the trigger.

Pain rips through my body as what seems to be an electric grenade hits me in the chest and sends me pounding to the floor. I try to scream, but I don't hear anything. Pain courses down my spine, up my arms and legs, then another grenade hits and electricity sears through my body as I spasm out of control on the floor. Another hits, and I black out.

I wake up a few grenades later, I hear Mitchell say 'that's nine', my mouth and eyes are wide open, my arms, legs and torso spasming out of control. Pain is all that exists. I manage to turn my head a touch and see Mitchell lift up his gun for the last time. I hear someone yell from miles away, 'oh no you bloody don't!' I realise the yelling isn't miles away. Newt's standing right there. My spasms begin to cease just a little, and I'm more aware of my surroundings. I see Newt yank the gun out of Mitchell's hands, and raise it to his eye level. He pulls the trigger, and I hear him count in a whisper. Only it's not a whisper, it just sounds like a whisper to me.

'One, two, three, four,' with every count, Newt fires another grenade.

Mitchell has jagged blue lines of electricity pounding through him as he screams.

'Five, six, seven, eight, nine,' Newt takes a deep breath before firing the last, 'Ten.'

Mitchell's spasms stop abruptly, and his hands fall to his sides. His body becomes completely still. Newt drops the gun and runs over to me, he puts a hand on my arm and then pulls it back quickly, I see a blue line spark in his finger tips. He rubs his hand on the floor and watches me suffer. I see tears flow down his cheeks.

'I'm sorry, Emmy, I can't help you,' he says.

I wish I could say something back, but I can't manage. I think I might still be screaming. I black out again.

 _I'm standing in the same room. Newt, Janson and Mitchell are nowhere in sight. Or… is that Newt there? I see a young boy, maybe about seven years old, with Newt's blonde hair and brown eyes and perfect jawline. He's kneeling on the top bunk. He lifts up the corner of his mattress just a touch.  
'Still got it,' he whispers to himself in Newt's exact British accent (although it's a lot higher), and puts the mattress back down with a small smile.  
'Still got what?' A high pitched girl's voice asks. I look directly in front of me._

 _There stands… me._

 _A little girl with messy blonde hair held up in pigtails, and big blue eyes alight with curiosity._

 _'Um, nothing, Lu- I mean Emma,' Young Newt calls down to Young Emma._

 _Young Emma shrugs._

 _'It's weird how we still remember our old names, isn't it?' She says in the same high pitched tone._

 _'Yeah. Didn't they say we'd forget them?' Young Newt's eyebrows furrow together._

 _'Yes, they did. But I still remember mine… and yours…'_


	10. Chapter 10

I open my eyes and see I'm sitting in a chair, surrounded by all the Gladers and Group B.

'Emmy,' I hear someone gasp to my right.

I turn my head so quickly it hurts my neck, and see Newt sitting in a chair right next to me.

'Newt… what happened? Did you really kill Mitch? What about Janson? Who found out? Are we in huge trouble?' I blurt out.

Newt raises a finger to my lips to shush me.

'I took care of it,' he says simply.

'What?' I snap.

'Trust me on this one, Emmy,' Newt winks at me.

I decide not to talk any further on the subject. I give him a small smile.

I see Thomas is sitting next to Newt, and him and Teresa seem to be having quite a heated argument. Minho sits on the other side of Teresa, arms folded with an angry expression on his face.

'Rat Man's just told us he's going to give us our memories back,' Newt mumbles.

My eyes widen. I look around, Janson's standing at the front of the room looking rather annoyed at the buzz of conversation going around.

'I had a dream about you,' I say softly.

'Like a memory?' Newt asks.

'Yeah.'

Newt grins, 'I'm all ears.'

I open my mouth to start telling him, but just at that moment Janson yells at everyone to be quiet, and the buzz of conversation between the other people in the room cuts off (mostly). I shake my head dismissively at Newt, I'll tell him later.

'One last thing though, something I need to tell you before you regain your memories. It'll be better to hear it from me than to… remember the testing,' Janson says.

'What're you talking about?' Harriet calls out.

Janson clasps his hands behind his back, his expression suddenly grave. 'Some of you are immune to the Flare. But… some of you aren't. I'm going to go through the list - please do your best to take it calmly.'

The room lapses into silence, broken only by the hum of machinery and a very faint beeping sound.

'Wha - immune? I thought we all had it?' I whisper to Newt.

'Me too!' He whispers back.

'Do you think we are?' I ask.

'I bloody hope so, Emmy. I bloody hope so.'

'For an experiment to provide accurate results,' Janson continues, 'one needs a control group. We did our best to keep the virus from you as long as we could. But it's airborne and highly contagious.'

He pauses, taking in everyone's gazes.

'Just bloody get on with it,' Newt says. 'We all figured we had the buggin' disease anyway. You're not breaking our hearts.' I'm taken aback by Newt's abruptness. Just a second ago he was whispering about how he hoped he didn't have it?

'Yeah,' Sonya adds. 'Cut the drama and tell us already.'

Janson clears his throat. 'Okay, then. Most of you are immune and have helped us gather invaluable data. Only two of you are considered Candidates now, but we'll go into that later. Let's get to the list. The following people are _not_ immune. Emma…'

My breath catches. My heart seems to stop beating. A sickening fear consumes me.

I hear Newt let out a long sigh next to me. I look at him, his eyes have filled with tears. He puts his head in his hands and starts to sob, it breaks my heart. I wrap my arms around him.

'It's okay, Newt,' I whisper as Janson calls out a couple more names that I don't recognise, 'I'll be okay.'

But then Janson calls the one name I was desperate not to get called out. The name that's in my head the most. The name I've said so many times I can't even count. The name of the boy who changed my life.

'Newt.'

And just like that, my entire world falls apart.


End file.
